The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is planning to launch a joint patent classification system that incorporates what is believed to be the best classification practices of the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO). An External User Day will be held at the Alexandria, Virginia Campus on December 14, 2012. The USPTO and […]

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published Rule Changes to implement Section 6 of the America Invents Act (AIA) which amends the patent laws to create new post-grant review proceedings and replace inter partes reexamination proceedings with inter partes review proceedings. The new Rules can be found here. This AIA provision expands […]

On June 26, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision of the USPTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferances (the “Board”) to deny all claims pending in U.S. Patent Application No. 11/385,232 (“Application ‘232”). Application ‘232, entitled “Crossbar Arithmetic Processor,” discloses a computing device for processes such as addition, […]

Background A patent is a grant that is issued by the United States Government that gives you the right to exclude all others from making, using or selling the claimed subject matter of your patent, or its equivalents. Before you decide to pursue your idea, you should be confident that a market exists for you […]

The US Patent and Trademark Office USPTO now offers a $400.00 incentive to small entities for filing a Utility Patent Application. The new rule became effective on November 15, 2011, as a result of the passage of the American Invents Act (AIA). See Federal Register Notice The new rule adds a charge of $400.00 to […]